Infrastructure Matters

Australia’s major infrastructure – our roads, railways, ports and airports – are often described as our nation’s arteries that link us with one another and with the rest of the world.

If that’s the case, then the freight logistics industry is surely our nation’s lifeblood – the businesses that keep things moving 24 hours a day 7 days a week, from places of production, along the supply chain and finally to consumption.

And like our arteries, Australia’s infrastructure needs to facilitate the smooth and efficient movement of freight right around the country.

Nowhere is this more important than in our major cities, which produce 80 percent of our national wealth and are home to three out of every four Australians.

And if an artery clogs, our health suffers. The same applies to Australia’s critical infrastructure.

Congestion, bottlenecks, poorly planned and maintained infrastructure and urban encroachment all impact on the ability of our infrastructure to support an efficient and effective freight future.

Compounding these issues is the prospect of a rising freight task, which is expected to double by 2030 and to triple by 2050. The road freight task alone is projected to increase by 80 percent by 2030.

These realities underscore the need to ensure appropriate national infrastructure is in place in Australia to:

Meet Australia’s large and growing freight task

Ensure to ensure freight is moved around the country efficiently and safely

Enhance our standard of living and to boost national productivity

This is an issue for all levels of Government. Limited public funds need to be targeted at infrastructure projects which are in the national interest and have broad and lasting economic and social benefits.

Furthermore, governments of all levels need to ensure the ‘last mile’ issues that inhibit productivity growth are identified and addressed.

ALC believes the needs of freight needs to feature more prominently in all governments decision making.